Planoqraph co



L. L. BRIGGS. SHEL'L FUSE.-

Patented July 29, 1919.

"UNITED srArEs canoe.

Lotus L. nRIqGs','.0r-1mw YORK, 1v. Y.

Applicatinfi1ed January 2. 1917.

To all whom it may concern: T f .Be it known that 1, Louis L." Dmees, acitizen of. the United States," residing at New 'York; in the county of'New York'- and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in :She11;- Fuses; and I do hereby declare'the follow ingto be a full, clear,"'an'd eXact description of the invention, such 'aswar enable'otliers. skilled in the art to'wh'ich it appertains make anduse the same." 1 f Y My present invention'relates to improvements inshell fuses, and is intended to provide a percussion fuse [which isespecially adapted for use with projectiles adapted to strike a targetat a comparatively-low ve'-. locity, such as howitzer shell fired fromlong ranges and at a comparatively low initial velocity. My inventionrelates to shell fuses-of that character in which a plunger is 'heldin'pla'c'e by a "spring clip having weighted" arms, which arms arethrown out of engagement by'the'centrifugal forcedue t'o the rotation ofthe shell by the rifling of the gun. When the'velocity 0f the shell' inflight decreases, the rotary motion of the shell also decreases untilthe"centrifugal force b ecoiiie's" st; low

that the spring arms tend to swing back into engagement with theplunger; and my present invention is intended to provide a fuse havingaheavy plunger with an automatic lock for the spring arms when they areonce thrown out under the action of the centrifugal force, so that thesaid arms will positively and safely lock the plunger in the fuse,except when the shell is spun up, and after the shell has spun up theweighted arms are distended and are positively locked, thus leaving theplunger in the operative position during the remaining portion of thetrajectory of the shell.

My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a section through the fuse stock showing the plunger and thespring clip in elevation;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the plunger;

Fig. 3 shows a section through the plunger along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. l is a detail showing the spring clip in perspective; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the looking attachment for automaticallylocking the arms of the spring clip in the distended position.

Specification of Letters Patent.

catches will I Patented. Je se, 1 919;

'se iaiivai ioi l represents the fuse "s'tockof abas'e fuse havingthe'clo'sing plug 52, perforated as'at 3, and carryingtheprimer 4. iAttached to the plug 2' is the sprin'g 'clip 5, consisting of an'annularcentral portion, and the two resilient armsv; whicli'tern'i'in ateinweighted portions 8. The spring'clip' maybe made era single piece oflinetal stamped out and beiit'to the shape as shown, or the weights 8may be attached to the resilient arms "7-. I r

The-plunger l0-consists of a portion 11, provided with "a firing point12in its center, with thenreduced' stem '13 and the flange 14; and thesides of the-body portionof theplunger are cut away, asat '15,to permitthe free sPringin-Qin of the resilient arm's7, and also to permit' theweights 8 to; engage the stem 13 and to lock the plungeragainstsuliicient longitudinal movementto strike the primer should'the shellbfe' ac cidentally dropped endwise, orfall -in' any other way, eXceptafter it hasf'been'fired frointhe I gun.

Mounted in the"bottom"of the fuse a ring 17 provided I with 5 inclinedresilient catches 8,. insli upwardly. and Q1 1 wardly, asthma in Figs.1" and"5,"'which permit the weights to swing outward when the shell isspun up, but will lock the weights against subsequent movement inwardafter being once distended, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

These catches project into notches lt in the flange 14 when the plungeris in the safety position shown in Fig. 1.

As a result of this herein described construction the fuse is absolutelysafe, no matter should the shell be accidentally dropped, ,or subjectedto careless and rough handling; but when oncethe shell is set spinningthe fuse is primed, and the plunger is ready for action, when theforward movement of the projectile is suddenly arrested as when itstrikes the ground or the target.

While I have shown the invention as applied to a base fuse, it will beobvious that by a reversal of the parts it may be adapted to a fusemounted in the nose of the shell.

Any suitable primer may be mounted in the fuse stock, and the nature ofthe priming charge may be varied at will.

It will be noted that the plunger is shown as comparatively heavy, so asto deliver an adequate blow to the primer.

The plunger is mounted to slide freely in the-fuse stock so that it willnot be necessary to have the shell strike end on for the fuse tooperate. The spring clip being held absolutely clear of the plungerafter the shell is spun up, it will be seen that even if the shell wereto strike base forward, as occasionally happens, the rebound of theplunger would cause it to strike the primer and explode the shell.

It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in theherein described device, and in the construction, combination andarrangement of parts which could be used without departing from thespirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States is 1. In a percussion fuse forshells, the combina-tion with a fuse stock and a primer carried thereby,of a plunger slidably mounted in said fuse stock and. provided with aheavy body portion having parallel grooves in opposite sides thereof, afiring point carried by said body portion, and a flanged stem projectingrearwardly from said body portion, a spring clip having resilient armsadapted to pass freely in said grooves, and weights carried by said armsadapted to normally engage said flanged stem, but to fly clear thereofdue to centrifugal force when the shell is spun up, and means forautomatically holding said arms in the distended position after theshell is spun up,

Conic! or this patent may be obtained for said means comprising yieldingspring catches adapted to be pressed back by said Weights on theiroutward movement, but to lock the same against return movement inward asthe centrifugal force decreases due to the slowing down of the rotary.motion of the shell, substantially as described.

2. In a percussion fuse for shells, the com bination with a fuse stockand a primer carried thereby, of a plunger slidably mounted in said fusestock and provided with a heavy body portion having parallel grooves inopposite sides thereof, a firing point carried by said body portion, anda flanged stein projecting rearwardly from said body portion, a springclip having resilient arms adapted to pass freely in said grooves, andweights carried by said arms adapted to normally engage said flangedstem, but to fly clear thereof due to centrifugal force when the shellis spun up, and means for automatically holding said arms in the distended position after the shell is spun up, said means comprising alocking ring having oppositely-disposed spring catches inclined upwardlyand outwardly therefrom, said spring catches permitting the outwardmovement of said weights; but locking the same against return movementinward as the centrifugal force decreases due to the slowing down of therotary motion of the shell, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

LOUIS L. DRIGGS.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Ifacents,

Washington, D. 0.

